Project Assessment: [i.e. Evaluation]
Project Assessment sounds better to many of us rather than the term “Evaluation”. The later term conjures up anxiety about quizzes or tests in a search for perfection or a comparison to others whereby a rating scale from A – F is the outcome. So when you think about Grant Evaluation, the conceptual thoughts should be “Did we accomplish what we wanted? How do we know we did or didn’t? and What can we learn from the effort?”
Critical elements of Project Assessments: Completion of Project Objectives; Multiple sources of data; Quantitative and Qualitative Data
If you recall the instructions on developing objectives, they are always measureable. It doesn’t matter what type of objective you created [i.e. Behavioral, Performance, Process or Product] there are methods to assess your Project’s performance. If the objectives were well written, you probably commented about how they were to be assessed within your Project Description. In continuing our Camp Wantawompom example: a Behavioral objective [one that requires human activity] might have been the hiring of new qualified Camp Counselors; a Performance objective [one that has a specific time frame for completion] the selection of a construction company to build the bunkhouses; and a Product objective [a tangible item created] the number of the actual completed bunkhouses. One objective often ignored is the Process Objective [the manner in which something occurs]. Think of it as the submission of periodic reports about how the project is progressing. Some Foundations have rigid dates for these reports and others are not so concerned about them. When funded, your organization will be informed about reporting guidelines required by your funding source. Don’t ignore them. In simplest terms, Project Assessment or Evaluation is a critical need for the Foundation. They want to know if the money they provided was put to good use. Foundation staff have an obligation to report to their Board of Directors. You need to provide them with accurate, well documented, and if possible, multiple data sources to confirm that their partnership in your organizational Project was worth the investment. The multiple sources of data should be quantitative and qualitative. Be sure to count all the relevant items you can [e.g. number of new campers, bunkhouses built, counselors hired, etc.] as well as survey results of pertinent people regarding the Projects’ impact [e.g. board members, campers, community leaders, etc.]. Survey instrument samples should be provided to Foundation staff, if they are interested, for prior approval. They may have questions they wish to ask and it reinforces the concept of partnership in the Project.
Project Budget: Itemized Budget Summary; Budget narrative
There are 2 steps to complete in developing a budget for a Grant proposal: itemized budget summary and the budget narrative.
Itemized Budget Summary: Direct Cost and Indirect Cost; “In Kind Contributions”
The easiest method to complete this Grant section is to review your Project Objectives and associated activities in a chronological manner. The only purpose of the Budget Summary is to show the “Grant Maker” how you will spend the Grant Award. The 3 major Budget Summary components are: Direct Costs, Indirect Costs and “In Kind” contributions. Direct Costs represent all items…personnel, materials, contractual services and the like…that are directly linked to completion of the Grant Project. In most cases, this is where most if not all of the Grant award dollars are utilized. Indirect Costs are those items that are difficult to quantify as they cannot be directly linked to the Grant Project but are logically… real expenses. Most often the items refer to heating, cooling, water, secretarial, and other ancillary issues associated with an organization of your type. Most large organizations have an established Indirect Cost rate. For the purpose of this class, figure on a estimate of 5% of the Direct Costs of the Grant Proposal. “In Kind” Contributions represent true costs of the Project for which your organization or another entity will contribute for Project completion. It’s always prudent to show commitment as it represents a true partnership in the Project. Many times, this item is the dedication of the Indirect Cost line item as an “In Kind” contribution. But other items can be considered as well. In the Camp Wantawampom analogy, the organization is contributing volunteer labor in the construction of the bunkhouses. This is commonly referred to as “sweat equity”. The process of estimating the cost is based on “the going rate” for such labor, times the number of laborers times the number of hours contributed.
Common Budget Categories: Personal, Travel, Capital expense, Materials and Supplies, Contractual Services
When determining personnel expense, if any, don’t fail to include the fringe benefit component. This item is usually a well-established percentage within an organization. For the purpose of this class, if you have chosen a fictitious rather than a real organization, figure the fringe benefit amount at 23 % of the Personnel Direct Costs. Not all Grant proposals have expenses in the common budget categories. Travel, Capital Expenses and Contractual Services are not always needed. When they are, be sure to be comprehensive in scope, specifics and the amounts requested. In Travel, budget for at least two trips for an organizational representative to travel to the “Grant Makers” office. Also, remember that equipment is considered a Capital Expense and don’t forget expenses related to acquiring the equipment such as shipping. As stated earlier, you need to think through every aspect of the Grant Objectives to identify and request an appropriate amount of money to complete the Project. When listing Contractual Services, you need a good idea of the actual expense by soliciting bid estimates from contractors. Don’t just guess…have a realistic range of expense. If the contractual Services involves construction or renovation of any kind, you probably need to budget for unexpected cost overruns. You have two textbooks that provide you with excellent guidance for completing the Project Budget. Be sure to review all the readings and sample forms before you begin the assignment. And choose the budget sample form that best fits your idea.
Budget Narrative
The Budget Narrative is usually consists of one or more pages. It represents your explanation to the “Grant Maker” of how you arrived at the numbers on the one page budget summary. The easiest method to develop your budget narrative is to review the completion of Project objectives and associated activities within the calendar timeline of the Grant award. In theory, every objective has a cost and a chronological pattern for completion. If the Grant award is multiyear, you’ll probably need to show some of the same objective completion expenses in each year with adjustments for inflation and other factors. The textbooks provide you with excellent sample forms you can review for further explanation. It is very important that you consider every possible expense to complete an objective. Failure to do so may cost your organization money. For example, the construction of bunkhouses for Camp Wantawompom requires special “risk” insurance during their construction in the form of an insurance “rider” on the Camp’s regular insurance policy. This is needed in the event someone is hurt or one of the new buildings burns down prior to receiving an occupancy clearance. This may not be a major expense, but any $ 500 – $1,000 increase for a Camp could be a significant unexpected bill. If items such as this are not included in the Grant budget, the organization…not the “Grant Maker”… is expected to pay the bill. It is also prudent for the Grant writer to become familiar with Grant budget definitions. My experience with “Equipment”, for example, was the federal gov’t definition stated that any item costing more than $500 AND having a life expectancy more than 3 years was considered a piece of equipment. If it didn’t meet both aspects of the definition, it was considered a “supply” item. These definitions may vary from one “Grant Maker” to another but in their absence, you may develop your own as long as they are reasonable. When personnel are referenced in the budget narrative, you may wish to identify those individuals by function and title…Who will have responsibility for various aspects of Grant implementation? This usually involves a calculation of percentages of time, rates of pay and specific tasks of the Grant. One word of caution…at one point in my career…I monitored hospital grants for a “Grant Maker” and found a physician who had written himself into multiple grants at 10 % of his time in each grant totaling of 150% of his time…And he also saw patients 4 days per week. It was an innocent error but under the threat of prosecution he returned many thousands of dollars with interest for his “mistake” that occurred over multiple years.
